[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 70 (Tuesday, May 11, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E811]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         IN RECOGNITION OF GILLS ONIONS' GRAND CONCEPTOR AWARD

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                          HON. ELTON GALLEGLY

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, May 11, 2010

  Mr. GALLEGLY. Madam Speaker, I rise in recognition of Gills Onions, a 
Ventura County, California, company recently awarded the Grand 
Conceptor Award from the American Council of Engineering Companies 
(ACEC), considered the Academy Awards for engineering.
  Gills Onions, owned by Steve and David Gill, teamed with HDR 
Engineering to develop a groundbreaking waste-to-energy system fueled 
solely from onions.
  Gills Onions and HDR were chosen from a field of eight finalists 
selected from among 163 projects worldwide. ACEC represents more than 
5,600 engineering firms throughout the United States. Other finalists 
included the new $1.3 billion Dallas Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, 
Texas, and the Sea-to-Sky Highway project in British Columbia, Canada.
  Gills Onions hired HDR Engineering to develop the Advanced Energy 
Recovery System (AERS), which converts 200,000 pounds of daily onion 
waste (peels, stems, and tops) into biogas. The biogas, in turn, powers 
300-kilowatt fuel cells to supply plant operations.
  Gills Onions is the world's largest processor of fresh-cut onions and 
distributes them across the nation.
  AERS satisfies 60 percent of Gills Onions' annual power needs--an 
estimated $1.1 million savings. In addition to increased energy 
independence, AERS has allowed Gills Onions to eliminate a waste 
stream, reduce its operational costs and provide a smaller carbon 
footprint.
  The combination of the energy produced, cost savings generated and 
grant funding achieved by the project will result in a full payback in 
less than six years.
  Madam Speaker, I know my colleagues will join me congratulating Steve 
and David Gill and Gills Onions for being awarded the Grand Conceptor 
Award and for their out-the-box thinking that has possibly 
revolutionized how food processing waste is treated.

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